Ashton's Curse, The Truth Comes Out
by Stargirlthewriter
Summary: SO2 Claude is stuck having to prevent Precis and Rena from murdering each other when an important question arises..."Why is Ashton always obsessed with barrels?" It all began three months ago...


_**Ashton's Curse, The Truth Comes Out**_

_By: stargirlthewriter _

_Summery: (SO2) Claude is stuck having to prevent Precis and Rena from murdering each other when an important question arises..."Why is Ashton always obsessed with barrels?" It all began three months ago, a little bit before Rena and Claude went to explore the Salva Drift..._

_Rating: T_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean: The Second Story, Just this Fanfiction which was a request from my boyfriend._

While collecting the four jewels of the Fields of Nede, Claude and the others decided to take a break from their adventures through the fields of Nede and visit Fun City. Precis had decided to examine the technology that the Nedians had to offer, so Ashton decided to follow her, for the possessed-by-dragons warrior had a crush on our little inventor. As a result, Claude and Rena were left all alone, and Rena had a question for a certain blonde earthling.

"Hey...Claude." she asked the human, catching his attention at that moment.

"Yes Rena?" Claude replied to the nedian healer, wondering what she wanted from him.

"I have something to ask you..." Rena brought up nervously, unsure how to ask the question.

"What is it?" Claude asked patiently, waiting for her response.

"Um...Would you like to--Ack!" Rena was suddenly cut off when she felt a cold spring of water splash her from behind. Claude and Rena looked over to see that Precis had been leaning on a nearby drinking fountain, but whether it was an accident or on purpose was up for debate.

"Oops! Sorry Rena, didn't see you there!" she called out in mock-embarrassment, then she walked over to Claude, tugged on his hand and said, "Hey Claude, you have to check this out! Follow me!"

"No thank you, Precis...I wanted to hear what Rena had to ask me." responded the blonde human politely, but the midget-like inventor was persistent to bring her crush along for the ride.

"Please Claude...?" she begged, then cast a haughty glance towards Rena and added, "Oh, and Rena can come too."

"Alright, I'll go too." Claude sighed, he had finally given in to Precis's antics and decided to go along, with Rena in tow. However, Rena wasn't too happy as she watched Precis chatter about a gadget in the Gift Shop that apparently lets you teleport to your significant other from far away. Precis's sudden arrival caused jealousy to ignite within the nedian. It wasn't often she was jealous, and the jealousy had started only after she met Claude. Still, she kept her temper towards the small inventor girl, and simply followed the two of them to the gift shop, yet her foot caught on a crack in the street and she tripped, falling on top of Precis abruptly, interrupting her 'moment' with Claude, as soon as Claude heard two sets of female voices let out an "Oof! Oww!" in unison, he quickly turned around to see them both lying on the ground.

"Are you two okay?" he asked them, Precis and Rena looked up at Claude, then back at each other, and then started to squabble after they stood up.

"Hey! Rena, you did that on purpose!" shouted Precis as the nedian healer got off of her.

"Look, Precis. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I tripped, alright?" Rena replied in apology, but this did little to convince Precis.

"Yeah right, you tripped. You just want Claude all to yourself!" She snapped, causing Rena's patience to grow thinner with every moment.

"That's enough from you. You're just a kid." The nedian responded, though the last part of her response was merely out of the fact that she had little patience for the small inventor girl right at this moment.

"Rena...Wait..." Claude started to say, realizing what was about to happen right then.

"Just a kid...?!" repeated Precis, it was obvious that the blue-haired nedian had touched a nerve, and then Precis retorted with "Don't call me that, you old bat!"

"Old...Bat?" the blue-haired nedian repeated, after the retaliation of the small inventor girl. "If I'm so old compared to you, then you're still a midget!"

"Oooh! Catfight!" a random bystander chirped as he watched the two ladies fight, with Claude just standing in the middle of it, helplessly.

"I'm not a midget, you're nothing but a useless old hag!" Precis exclaimed as her patience was already long-gone.

"Precis...Please stop...Rena, you too." Claude tried to settle the matter, but even he could not stop them now.

"Excuse me? _I'm_ useless? What about you? All your inventions blow up in your face!" retorted Rena, her patience was now gone as well.

"Oh...That does it, you prissy little snob. Now you'll get yours..." muttered the small inventor girl, she pulled from her backpack a small package...

"Now Precis...There's no need to resort to violence...Can't we settle this in a different way?" the nedian realized where this was going, yet she knew that Precis was going a little too far.

"Too late, elf-girl." the small inventer girl told her, while she unwrapped the package, revealing a small chocolate crepe, and chucking it at Rena's face, but it missed and hit the bystander.

"Oh, real mature, Precis." the nedian quipped after Precis tossed her crepe at her, only to hit the random bystander who was now cleaning himself up.

"Oh yeah? What about you? At least I didn't resort to violence like you did!" Precis retorted, she thought about tossing another crepe at her, but decided not to waste them on her.

"I already told you that it was an accident!" Rena snapped at the short, crepe-loving girl, who just scoffed at her words.  
"Well, I don't believe you." the inventer girl retaliated, then added "You just want Claude all to yourself, and not only that, but what about Dias?"

"Dias is like an older brother to me! Any romantic feelings I'd harbor for him would feel too much like incest!" she explained to the inventor, who didn't buy that statement at all.

"Oh yeah right, the way you supported him in the tournament instead of Claude, that's really sisterly of you." the brunette inventor sneered at Rena.

"Look, kid. I supported both of them. Dias is like a brother to me while Claude..." Rena got interrupted with quick

"You floozy, you want both guys to yourself!" Precis blustered towards the nedian who was merely trying to reason with her.

"Precis, Rena! Please don-Hey, what's Ashton doing inside?" Claude instantly grabbed the two ladies' attention right then.

Precis and Rena halted their actions then joined Claude at the window where the three of them looked inside and saw Ashton gazing at a barrel in an almost longing way.

"What in Expel is Ashton doing...?" Precis asked, only getting a shrug from her other two comrades.

"Let's get Ashton out of there, then?" Rena offered, and her other two comrades agreed. As the three of them entered the shop, Claude approached Ashton, who just sat there, staring at the barrel with a loving gaze in his eye. Gyoro and Ururun were helplessly watching with true "What in Expel is he doing?!" gazes plastered on their faces.

"..Ashton?" Claude poked Ashton in the left shoulder blade, and yet all he got as a response from the possessed-by-dragons swordsman was,

"..._Barrel_..."

"What?" Claude asked, clearly confused.

"Barrel...Colorful Barrel. Barrel barrel..." he muttered, slowly, then he turned to Claude with a glazed look in his eye, an almost psychotic look plastered on his face as he repeated "Barrel...Barrel...BARREL. barrel barrel...Barrel. BARREL. Barrel barrel barrel. Barrel!"

Claude backed away slowly from the insane swordsman, who continued to flail about with cries of "Barrel! Barrel! Barrel!", only to get interrupted by a quick slap to the face by Precis herself.

"Ow! What was that for?" Ashton demanded after he suffered the blow from the midget.

"Why are you so obsessed with Barrels?!" Precis instantly demanded, only leaving the possessed-by-dragons swordsman confused.

"I'm not obsessed with barrels..." he replied, clearly confused by Precis's question.

"Yes you are." Rena and Claude replied in unison.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about...Then again, I have had a couple memory lapses lately...Ever since that fortune teller said my luck would be better at a great cost..." Ashton mused, raising curiosity in his other three friends.

"Fortune teller?" Rena asked, with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, it was a little bit before I met you and Claude, Rena. In fact, it was just before I went to slay the two headed dragon..." Ashton informed them as he tried to recall the events that happened three months ago...

In fact, three months ago, when Ashton was walking through the port town of Clik, he visited the old fortune teller...But little to Ashton, the oracle had a little too much to drink before he visited the elderly fortune teller.

Ashton was grumbling as he saw the fortune teller's house, just before he decided to go after the legendary, troublesome two-headed dragon he wanted to prepare for the worst. He already bought himself new duel swords, but he knew that it wasn't quite enough, so he knocked on her door and waited.

...

...

...

Nothing. Disappointed, he let his knuckles rap against the wooden door once more.

...

...

...

Nothing. Yet just before he went to try a final time, the swordsman finally heard something. A bizzare, masculine voice.

_"Come in, dearie...HIC!"_

So Ashton went inside to greet the drunken oracle, who motioned him to a chair on the other side of his crystal ball, and nodded at him.

"Ah yesh... 'Ave been expeeeeeecting yoooouuu. I bellliiiieevveee you areee Asssshhhhton Annnnncooorrsssshhh am I corrrreeeecccctttt?" the elderly man asked through his slurred speach.

"Yes, sir. I was wondering if today's the day I was supposed to face the two-headed dragon, is this the day?" the swordsman questioned the elderly oracle and awaited his answer.

The drunken old man peered into his crystal ball, to seek the truth that the swordsman had asked him, but due to his drunkenness, he could not come up with a clear image.

"Weeelllp, dearie, I can't sheee anyyyythiiiing abouta twoooo headdded drrragon, 'mafraiiiid. Buuut...Hic! Ah knooooowwww one thiiiing. You wiiiilll have good luuuck at a great...Hic!...A greeeatt cosht." the oracle told Ashton through a series of blurred speach.

"But what does that mean, sir?" Ashton asked politely to the woman.

"Whutitmeansh ish thaaat youuuu will meet a maaan and a woooman, both not from thish planet. The twoooo of them arrrre in love, but theeeyyy wooon't admit iiiiiit." replied the oracle, who had deffinetly had too much to drink.

"Uh...Okay, but I don't see what that has to do with a two headed dragon..." Ashton replied, hoping that the old man would respond, still oblivious to his drunkeness.

Yet all he got from the man was "Noooowww, handshome one, you musht marry meh in orderrrr to coooooovvveeerrr your biiiiilll. Hic!"

"M-marry you? Sir, are you drunk?!" Ashton protested as the old man came closer to him, the frightened swordsman backed away as he leaned in and tried to kiss him.

"Nooooowww Nowww...Come to maaaaammmaaa! Leeeeeeeemmmmeeee kish yoooooouuuu! Hic!" the elderly oracle came in more and more, suddenly he tripped, yet Ashton caught the elderly man just before he hit the floor, yet he didn't seem to happy, he pulled out a small bag of powder, and heaved it at the poor swordsman's face, causing him to stumble backward as the oracle chanted an unfamiliar chant.

"Get oooouuut, yoooouuu taaaaaallllkkkk oonnnnllllyyy swordshman, oouuut! Aannd taaake with you thhhheeee curshe of _Eroticasus Barrelia Fetishdo_!!"

Just before he left, he saw that the old man had been struck by a frying pan by his perturbed wife.

"Hun, you've been drinking again, haven't you? How many times did I tell you not to drink while you're on that new medication!" she scolded her husband who just groaned in pain, from both his stomach and his skull. The woman just sighed and set her husband on the couch, then turned to Ashton.

"I'm sorry about that, I wish I could do something about the curse he put onto you, but I can't, but hey, look at the bright side! You won't pass it on to your children!" she attempted to lift Ashton's spirits.

"I'll be alright, ma'm. Take care, and...Uh...Thanks." Ashon responded, before he headed out the door to start on his journey to Salva.

Back in the present, as Ashton finished recounting the events, he shook his head and said to his friends

"I still don't know what _Eroticasus Barrelia Fetishdo _is..."

Claude, Rena and Precis all exchanged looks of concern, confusion and suspicion. Gyoro and Ururun nodded at each other knowingly, they knew what caused his fetish. Even if their host was too slow to understand.

Ashton tried to think about the meaning of it as well, yet his thoughts were interrupted as he saw a cart full of barrels being driven in the streets, he dashed out of the Gift Shop and promptly ran after the barrel cart, with a distraught Gyoro and Ururun in tow. Precis just shook her head and said in an obviously annoyed tone,

"I'll get him...Don't worry."

So Precis ran after Ashton, while Rena and Claude were once again alone. Claude turned to his blue-haired elf-like friend and asked,

"So, do you want to...Try out the café here? I hear they have great shortcake."

"Sure, why not?" replied the happy-go-lucky healer, and so the human and the nedian also exited the Gift Shop, and went to the Café at that note. As all four of them enjoyed their short vacation from fighting the Ten Wise Men.


End file.
